Ice cream filling machine



March 8, 1960 B. L. TANKERSLEY ICE CREAM FILLING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Aug. 13, 1956 TTORNEK INVEN TOR. 5am? A. 7zme/zs/ey BY EL WIIJ QM 5 W I 1- mE=. 9 Ill il f I \I HM l. W WM a 1 March 8, 1960 B. L.TAllKERSLEY 2,927,611

v ICE CREAM FILLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 13, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR.

Arm N554 March 8, 1960 B. L. TANKERSLEY 2,927,611

ICE CREAM FILLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 1a, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet s 4 TTOKEV.

March 8, 1960 B. 1.. TANKERSLEY ICE CREAM FILLING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet4 Filed Aug. 13, 1956 g g a Q INVENTOR. 52/775 L. 72/? e y ATTORNEKMarch 8, 1960 B. TANKERSLEY 2,927,611

ICE CREAM FILLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V ENTOR.

United States This invention relates to machine for filling tartar-iswith bulk material as for eirainple ice or am, the p may object *beingioprovide apparatus than autom throughout the filling operation andcapahle without operator attention of completely fillihg the cartonswithout spillage or other defects in operation; pla "fig the cartons incondition for closure as the emanate ffoni the machine.

It is the most important object or the instant tion to provide a fillingmachine for ice cream cartons and the like having components forta'atinh successively feeding the cartons to a ti ing into registeringrelationship a that ia-lee spout and thereupon lowering the filled crush'oii'to' im lacable support that retrieves the filled beneath the spoutclearing the space theretie oath 'fo'r' receiving another carton.

Another important object of the latest the provision or a fillingmachine that ein sy's a v cal-1y reciproeabl'e structure for handlingthe respect to the material discharge spent and parable in connectionwith a horizon-tally reciprocahle as Bl'y' that includes a pusher, aswell as a slide o'prably iii'tei'eonnected and associated with the said"structure in lmed relationship thereto to feed the cartons to thestiuctiiie and remove the same after filling. I

A further object of the instant invention is the are vision of a fillingmachine permitting continuous feed'ng: of the material under pressurethroughw' the discharge spent by virtue of the fact that the emptycartons are fed thereheneath at a lower elevation than that o thereciprocable slide which receives the filled when and withdraws the samefrom beneath the spout.

A still further object of the invention is t6 provide novel means forcontrolling the rate of descent of the carton under influence of thepressure of material emanate ing from the spout so that elimination ofpockets and complete filling of the carton is assured.

It is an important of the instant invention to invide fluid pressuremeans for con-trolling th vertical re: ciprocation of the cartonhandling structure utilized not only to cushion,'and thereby control therate of descent, but employed to withdraw a vertically reciprocablepiston from beneath the filled car-ton when it comes to rest uponthehorizontally reciprocabl'e slide and to hold the pisthh in such.position until an empty carton is depositetlthei'e on. Another aimofthe instant invention is to provide means controlled by the verticalmovement of the "canton itself for in turn controlling the reciprocationof the empty carton pusher and the slide for withdrawing the filled 65carton from the piston and from beneath the s'pout'. 7

Other aims and objects include the novel formation of the spout itselfto assure elimination of air pockets; the way in which the fluidpressure assembly is eontrolled by parts oi the mechanism forreciprocating the plls lie'r and the slide; the way in which apressuretamk; together Witli'press'ure rghlators, are provided tocontrol the 'vel Patent Patented Mar". 8, 1960 2 i thepiston; the way inthe the 1 was .are td,; l b e at am n tit r a"continuouslymovingjconyeyori the manner of providing a stiles of cartongrasping or holding dogs on, and adjacent to, the horizontallyreciprocable strucltiire' for assuring proper feeding and removal of thecanons with respect tothe spout; and many other more filliii'g' imminnt-ads pursuant to my present invention} parts being broken away forcleanest. l I

Fig. '2 is a side 'elevationa-l view thereof, parts being brokenaway toreveal details of construction.

I Fig. 3 an enlarged, fragmentary, plan view beneath the materialfeeding spou illustrating the conveyor and the horizontallyi'ecipio'cable parts fO-ijfeeding the cartons and withdrawing the same.h 4

Fig'. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating the horiz'o'ntallyreciprocable parts in another position.

Fig.5 is a fragmentary, detailed cross-sectional view talr'il'on line VV of Fig. 4.

' Fig. 6 is a schematic view illu'strating the manner of operation ofcertain of the components; togetherwith a wiring diagram showing theelectrical features of the maliine.

Fig. 65 is an "enlarged view of the fluid control valve partiallyill-section. k V

Figs. 710 ll inclusiire are schematic views showing the sequence ofoperation from the time the carton is first fed to th e'sp'o'ut untilthe filled carton is removed therefrom; and V Fig. 12 is an enlargedview partially in section-showin a carton being filled with materialemanating from'th discharge spent. I I

The machine illustrated in the drawings and aboi'lt to be described; hasbeen especially adapted for filling conventional open-top ice creamcartons 14 with ice creairl 16 emanating from an open bbttoin dischargespout 18, as best seen in Fig. 12 of the drawings. The cartons 14 arefed continuously along a horizontal path of travel into a position infront of a horizontally receipr'ocabl'e pusher '20 by a continuousconveyor 22.

vThe conveyor 22 is driven by a prime mover such as anelectric inotof'r24 shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 6; and

which is operably connected with one of the shafts 26' through an idlershaft 28 by belt and pulley means 30 and chain and sprocket wheelmeans32 (see Figs. l and 2). Whenthe machine is placed in operation, switch34 is closed to energize the motor 24 and thereby drive with the plate38 through a pin 44 depending from the.

latter. h v

A second electric motor 46 reciprocates .the bar 336 and, therefore, thepusher 20, as well as the plate 38 through the medium of a crank 48,belt; and pulley means 50; adjustable linkage 52 and 54, disc 56 andover-running clutch 58 that is in turn controlled by solenoid 60;

The liuk 5 2 pivotally interconnects the upper end. of

vertically swingablecrank 48 with an ear 62 depending from the bar 36.The lowermost end of the crank 48 is pivotally connectedwith the disc 56by the link 54;

the connection between the link 54 and the disc 56 being eccentric tothe axis of rotation of the latter. Such ecdisc 56 permits shifting ofthe bearing 64 along the track means 66 toward and away from the axis ofrotation of. the disc 56, it being understood that disc 56 is drivenfrom the over-running clutch 58. I

A fluid pressure assembly is provided for receiving the empty cartonssuccessively from the conveyor 22 and imparting vertically reciprocablemovement thereto with respect to the spout 18. Such assembly includes afiuid cylinder 70 having a vertically, reciprocable piston 72therewithin that is in turn provided with an upstanding stem 74, and asmall plate 76 rigid to the upper end of the stem 74. Manifestly, thepiston stem 74 is aligned vertically with the axis of the spout 18 andmoves toward and away from the open bottom of the latter when piston 72is actuated.

A manifold 78 is coupled witha source of fluid under pressure such asair (not shown) through a feed line 80- having a pressure regulator 82interposed therein. The lowermost end of the cylinder 70 is connectedwith the manifold 78 by a pipe 84 and the upper end of the cylinder 70is connected with the manifold 78 by a pipe 86. A pressure tank 88 isconnected to the pipe 84 by a branch 90 and a pressure regulator 92,together with a pressure gauge 94 are connected to the pipe 84 betweenthe tank 88 and the manifold 78.

A valve 96 is interposed in the pipe 86 and as shown in Fig. 6a, thesaid valve 96 includes a tubular body 98 having a reciprocablespring-loaded plunger 100 extending into one end thereof. A roller 102on the outermost end of the plunger 100 is held in constant engagementwith the periphery of the disc 56 by spring 104 within the body 98behind the plunger 100. When plunger 100 is in the position shown inFigs. 6 and 6a, fluid above the piston 72 is exhausted to the atmosphereby way of exhaust port 106 in body 98 communicating with the upper isplaced in communication directly with the pipe 86,

thereby interconnecting the manifold 78 with the upper end of thecylinder 70. When however, the disc 56 rotates to a position where theroller 102 engages the cam 114, plunger 100 moves outwardly under theaction of spring 104 to a point intermediate the ends of its path oftravel and in such position of the plunger 100, neither the bore 108 northe passage 110 is in communicatio with either the pipe 86 or the port106.

When the pusher 20 moves from the position shown in Figs. 3 and 7, tothe position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 8, it removes a single carton 14from the continuously operating conveyor 22 and slides such carton 14onto the plate 76 directly beneath the spout 18. By virtue of the factthat the plate 38 is connected with the pusher 20 for reciprocationtherewith, it is seenalso that the said plate 38 moves to and 8.

The extent of movement of the carton 14 is, of course, governed bymovement of the pusher 20 but in order to assure that the carton 14 isheld properly aligned with the spout 18, the pusher 20 moves cartons 14to a position embraced by a pair of swingable spring-loaded, arcuate"fingers 116 seen best in Figs. 2 to 4 inclusive. A pair of parallelrails 118 guide the cartons 14 as the same are the right as depicted inFigs. 4

advanced by the conveyor 22 and a pair of parallel plates 120perpendicular to the rails 118 guide the cartons 14 as the same areadvanced by the reciprocable structure The fingers 116 are mounted onthe plates 120 and swingable about vertical axes 122. Upstanding pins124, one on the innermost rail 118 and the other on the outermost plate120, are.provided with lateral extensions 126 serving as stops for thefingers 116. The said fingers 116 are yieldably biased toward each otherby springs, rubber bands or the like 128, interconnecting the saidfingers 116 and the upstanding pins 124, the said yieldable means 128biasing the fingers 116 against the terminal ends of the extensions 126when the pusher 20 and the plate 38 are in the position shown by Figs. 3and 7.

I the dogs 132 for swinging movement toward and awayfrom each otherabout vertical axes, and means such as rubber bands 136 interconnectingthe dogs 132 and their. corresponding panels 138, yieldably bias thedogs 132 inwardly toward each other. The L-shaped dogs 132 are employedto engage or grasp the filled carton 14 to pull the same along with theplate 38 from beneath the spout 18 during movement of the plate 38 fromthe position shown in Fig. 3 ,to the position shown in Fig. 4, as willhereinafter be more fully explained. The dogs 132 are shown in Fig. 4engaging a filled carton designated by the numeral 140.

. After the plate- 38 and its dogs 132 have moved the filled carton 14ato the position shown in Fig. 4', a pair of arms 138 engage the filledcarton 14a to prevent its returnmovement toward the conveyor 22 with thereturn ofthe plate 38 to the position shown in Fig. 3.

, The arms 138 are mounted for swinging movement on plates 120 aboutvertical axes 140 in substantially the same manner as fingers 116 aremounted on the plates 120, as seen in Figs. 2-4. Here again, through useof a a, lateral projection 142 rigid to the mounting means for the arms.138, the latter are yieldably biased inwardly toward each other byrubber bands or the like 144, interconnecting the projections 142 andthe arms 138. Any suitable means (not shown) may be employed if deemeddesirable or necessary,. to limit the extent of inward swinging movementof the arms 138. means 144 permit the arms 138 to swing outwardly whenthe slide 38 and its dogs 132 move the filled carton 1411 from beneaththe spout 18 to the position shown in Fig. 4. It is noted in Fig. 2 thatthe dogs 132 are disposed below the fingers 116 and the arms 138,whereby the dogs 132 may reciprocate freely with the plate 38 withoutinterference by fingers 116 and arms 138.

Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive, is the fact that the fingers 116 ing removalfrom beneath the spout 18 Motor 46 operates continuously up'on closingof switch 146 (Fig-6) but rotation of disc 56 and, therefore, re--ciprocation of pusher 20 and plate38, are interrupted .during each cycleof operation by energization of solenoid 60. Such en'ergization iscontrolled by a switch 148' in series with the solenoid 60 and switch146. A springloaded, horizontally reciprocable actuator rod 150 forcontrolling switch 148, is disposed within the path of --'travel of'thecarton 14 as the same is elevated onto the? spout 18 in telescopingrelationship thereto by upward The yieldable' Notable in amass-imovement attire piston '72. As seen n Fig. 6 switch 148 is normally openbut as soon 'as the nppermost edge of th'e carton 14 engages therod 150to shift the latter away from the spout 1'8, switch 148 is closed,causing solenoid 60 to remain energized until lt hecarton 14 againdescends to a position clearing the rod 1 5'0} Manifestly, means (notshown) is provided for adjusting the rod 150 not only vertieally topredetermine the period of time during which switch its is held closed,but horizontally toward and away from the spout 1 8 to accommodatecartons having differing wall thicknesses. The solenoid-controlled,ever-"running clutch 58 is conventional and, therefore,fits details ofoperation are not illustrated. It may be pointed out merely'thatsolenoid 60 controls a pawl forming a part or the clutch st to preventits establishing a driving connection between belt and pulley means 54and the disc 56wheneverisolenoid 6Q is energized. v k

The ice cream 16 is fed continuously tinder pressure to the spout 18from a source of'stipply thereof not shown) and the "spout 18 isspecially formed as shown in Fig. 12, to eliminate the formation of airpockets within the carthin 14 and prevent complete filling thereof withthe materi'al 16. To this end, spout 18 has an appreciably greateroutside diameter than inside diameter by virtue of its double-wallconstruction, presenting 'a dead-air space 152 to prevent formation andfreezing of condensate on the o uter surfaces of the spout 18.A1ternate1y,the space 152 may be filled with asu'itable insulation tothereby alleviate the freeiing problem which wouldotherwise preventescape of air from the carton 14 as indica't'ed by arrows in Fig. 12. x

In this respect, his notable that the inside diameter of the carton 14is slightly greater than the said outside diameter of spout 18. Notablealso is that the outermost peripheral edge 154 of the spout 18 isbeveled ones eg to assure guiding of the carton 14 onto the spoilt 18when elevated by the plate 76 on piston stem '74.

Operation It must be understood at the outset that certain conditionsexist at all times for automatic operation of the machine abovedescribed.

First, the ice cream 16 is fed continuously under pressure through thespout '18. Secondly, the conveyor 22 operates continuously upon closingof the switch 146 By the same token, the prime mover 46 operatescontinuously upon closing of switch 146 except only during closing ofthe switch 148.

Additionally, fluid under predetermined pressure as controlled byregulator 82, is placed on the manifold 78 through line 80 at all times.

I Finally, a predetermined pressure exists in the cylinder 70 beneaththe piston 72 at all times determined by regulator 92 as indicated onthe gauge 94. 7

With the above in mind, it is seen that the conveyor 22 feeds thecartons 14 continuously toward the outermost plate 20 and biases thesame against such plate as conveyor 22 slides with respect to the row ofcartons 14 held in place by the guide rods 118 as seen in Fig. 3.

Pusher 2t? moves the proximal carton 14b from the conveyor 22 and slidesthe same onto, theplate 76 by.

virtueof operation of motor 46. Viewing Fig. 2, it is seen that crank 48is swung to the left-hand end of its path .of travel when the .pusher 20is disposed as shown in Fig. 3. Clockwise rotation of the disc 56 exertsa pull upon the crank 48 through link 54 and crank 48 in turn pulls uponthe bar 36 through link 52 to move bar 36, pusher 20 and plate 38 to theright. When these horizontally reciprocable parts are at the extremeright -hand end of their paths of travel, as shown in Fig. 4, the hear;ing 64 will have moved to the extreme left-hand endof its path of traveland be disposed adjacent the roller 192 of valve 96. r s p U It isunderstood of course, that the piston 72 is at the 14b, solenoid 60 willbe energized redressage the h 6 liiwerinost end of its path of travel assl f A in x and 8, dining the time that carton 1421 is being shiftedthereupon by the pusher 2G. It is noted also in Figs. 4 and 8 that whenthe carton 1421 is resting 'iiponthe plate 76 (which "is ineidentally"at that time coplanar with upperstretch of "conve' or 22) thepushe'randfthe fingers 116 cooperate in grasping and holding the cartdn' 14b inproper position for movement onto the "speu't 18. In this respect thepusher is provided with an up} standing, arc'uate flange 202i conformingto the contour of [the carton 14a in the same manner as the arenas can'-figiiration of the fin'ger's 1 16. p z ,7

Rotation of the disc '56, 180 as just "described, moves the cams 112 and114th a position elearitig the 'r n ei 1112, thereby aligning the bore108 with the port 106 and thereby exhausting the timid above piston72,froif1 the cylinder 70fto the atmosphere. At that moment, i;e.,moving "or theplnn'ger 100 to the position in Fig. 6a, pressure withinthe s8 and pi ad, therefore, in the cylinder 70 below piston 72, eause'sure latter to move upwardly thereby raising the carton 14b in the mannerillustrated by Fig. 6 and to the position shown in Fig. 9 telescope'd onthe spout 18. During the initial upward movement of the carton 14b, andprior to its engagement with the rod 150*t'o close switch 148, thepusher 20 will have commenced jits return movement toward the positionshown in Fi This is by virtue of the fact that the bearing 64 com;mences its movement from adjacent the roller 102 toward theposition'shown in Fig. 2. I, I i

However, as soon as switch 148 is closed by the carton 58 and rotationof disc 56 will be diseontiriued ii it ll standing the fact that theprime mover 46 continues to operate. p

W As "soon as piston 72 and, therefore, carton reset; the uppermost endsof their paths of travel, the force of i the ice cream 16 emanating fromthe spout 18 and owing into the carton 14, will cause the latter and,therefore, the piston 72, to move downwardly against the force or thefluid pressure existing in the tank 88, pipe 84 and cylinder 70 beneathpiston 72. I t x 7 It can now be seen that the rate of descent under theforce of the ice cream 16 is determined by the pr'ess'ure of fluidwithin the tank 88 as controlled by re'gulatfo'r9 2.

Consequently, depending upon the viscosity of the ice cream 16, theweight thereof, the pressure forjeail'sihgthe same to flow through thespout l8, pro er fil the carton 1'4 maybe assured by control of thefluid pressure in tank 88 through use of regulator 92 as giiided bygauge 94. Manifestly, the pressure behind fthe tee cream 16 whenconsidering its weight, is lessthan the pressure maintained in pipe 84as read on the gauge '94, so that while the rate of descent is impeded,nonetheless, carton 14b will descend at substantially the same rate offlow of the ice cream 16 emanating from spout 18.

As soon as the upper edge of the carton 14b clears the rod 150, switch148 opens to again interconnect the prime mover 146 with the slidingassembly 20-38, and prior to lowering of the carton 14b to the lowermostend of its path of travel, the fingers of plate 38 will have returned toa position beneath the carton 14b to receive "the same. At this point itis to be noted in Figs. 7 to ll engaging the latter and withdrawing thesame from her.

neath the spout 18, through the fingers 116 as the latter yieldoutwardly against the action of rubber bands 128 and as the plate 38moves to the position shown in Fig. 4.

As the pusher 20 and plate 38 arrive at the position shown in Fig. 3and, therefore, as the bearing 64 returns to the position shown in Fig.2, cam 112 will engage the roller 102 thereby forcing the plunger 100inwardly from the position shown in Fig. 6a, to a position where thebore 108 registers with the pipe 86. This action of the valve 96 directsfluid pressure from the manifold 78 to the cylinder 70 above the piston72. Such pressure is higher than the pressure beneath the piston 72 and,therefore, the plate 76 is lowered from adjacent fingers 130 to thelowermost end of its path of travel, as shown in Fig. 10, rather quicklyto clear the plate 76 for receiving another carton 14 from the conveyor22.

The pressure is maintained upon the upper face of piston 72 throughoutthe time the cam 112 is in engagement with roller 102 and, therefore,throughout the time that an empty carton is fed by pusher 20 from theconveyor 22 to the plate 76. While the pusher 20 feeds an empty cartonin this manner, the plate 38 simultaneously moves the filled carton 14afrom beneath the spout 18, to a point of engagement by the terminal endsof the arms 138. The filled carton 14a moves freely between the arms 138by virtue of the fact that they yield outwardly against the action ofrubber bands 144. On the return movement of the plate 38 to theleft-hand end of its path of travel, arms 138 hold the filled carton 14aand the plate 38 slides freely therebeneath. Any suitable means (notshown) may be provided to convey the filled cartons from the plate 38 toa point of placing lids thereon and further processing.

After the cam 112 moves to a position clearing the roller 102, cam 114moves into'engagement with roller 102, permitting outward movement ofplunger 100 only to a point where the bore 108 is between pipe 86 andport 106. This takes the pressure off the upper face of piston 72 butdoes not permit it to rise under influence of pressure therebeneathsince the fiuid in the upper end of cylinder 70 cannot exhaust to theatmosphere by way of port 106 until cam 114 moves beyond roller 102 andspring 104 forces the plunger 100 to the position shown in Fig. 612. Bysuch construction, therefore, it is seen that the connection betweenmanifold 78 and the cylinder 70 is blocked prior to exhausting of thecylinder 70 to the atmosphere and, therefore, there will be no flow offluid from the manifold 78 to the atmosphere by way of port 106 duringcontinuous operation of the machine.

The disposition of the plate 38 above the level of conveyor 22 and abovethe plate 76 when the latter is at the lowermost end of its path oftravel, is important. First, as above indicated and as seen in Fig. 10,during movement of the filled carton from beneath the spout 18, the icecream 16 will be wiped smoothly from the spout 18 establishing a levelof the material in the carton flush with its uppermost edge.

Additionally, remembering that the ice cream 16 flows continuouslyduring the interval oftime between removal of the filled carton frombeneath the spout 18 until an empty carton is placed thereon, a certainamount of the ice cream 16 will be forced beneath the lower edge of thespout 18. Consequently, when the empty carton is moved by the pusher 20onto the plate 76, the upper edge of such carton will clear thepartially discharged ice cream 16.

In this connection also the relative inside and outside diameters of thespout 18 becomes important for. the diameter of such discharged icecream will be appreciably less than the inside diameter of the carton14. -Conse-' quently, when the latter is raised by the piston 72, nospillage will occur and there will be no tendency of the upper. edge ofthe carton 14 shearing the ice cream -16 and causing the same to spillover the outside of the carton 14. Still further, the double-wallconstruction of the spout 18 presents a space 156 beneath the lower edgeof the spout 18 within the carton 14 as seen in Fig. 12 for progressiveand gradual collection of air and discharge thereof upwardly as shown bythe arrows between the carton 14 and the spout 18.

The amount of ice cream 16 that extends below the spout 18 as just aboveexplained, depends of course, upon the speed of operation of themachine, all of which is controlled in part by regulation of thepressure in tank 88 as determined by regulator 92. In this connection,it is important to select the cushioning tank 88 and to determine itscapacity in connection with the size of the cylinder 70. For the mostpart however, the cartons may be filled in rapid succession as fast asit is possible to force the ice cream 16 through the spout 18.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for filling cartons, an open bottom material-feedingspout; structure for raising the cartons into register with the spout toreceive the material therefrom and for lowering the cartons as the samefill; reciprocable mechanism for feeding the cartons successively tosaid structure; apparatus connected with said mechanism forreciprocation therewith for removing the filled cartons successivelyfrom said structure; and means having parts disposed to be engaged bythe cartons as the same are raised by said structure and while thecartons are being filled for preventing reciprocation of said mechanismand said apparatus during a predetermined period of operation of saidstructure.

2. In a machine for filling cartons, an open bottom material-feedingspout; vertically reciprocable structure for receiving said cartonssingly, raising the same into register with the spout to receive thematerial therefrom and lowering the same during filling thereof;apparatus for removing the filled cartons from the structure in. cludinga horizontally reciprocable plate; and means for moving the plate to aposition within the path of travel of the carton as the same descendsduring filling, and

' thereupon out of said position after the filled carton comes to reston'the plate to withdraw said filled carton from beneath the spout.

3. In a machine for filling cartons, an open bottom material-feedingspout; vertically reciprocable structure for receiving said cartonssingly, raising the same into' reciprocation therewith for engaging saidfilled carton as the same comes to rest on the plate whereby the plateexerts a pull on the filled carton to carry the same therewith andthereby withdraws the filled carton from beneath the spout as the platemoves out of said position.

' 4. In a machine for filling cartons, an open bottom material-feedingspout; vertically reciprocable structure for receiving said cartonssingly, raising the same into register with the spout to receive thematerial therefrom and lowering the same during filling thereof;apparatus for removing the filled cartons from the structure including ahorizontally reciprocable plate; means for moving the plate to aposition within the path of travel of the carton as the-same descendsduring filling, and thereupon out of said position after the filledcarton comes to rest on the plate; means mounted on the plate forreciprocation there with for engaging said filled carton as the samecomes to rest on the plate whereby the plate exerts a pull on the filledcarton to carry the same therewith and thereby withdraws the filledcarton from beneath the spout as'the plate movesout of said position;and means remote from the spout and engageable with the filled cartonafter the same has been withdrawn from beneath the spout for preventingmovement of the filled carton with the plate as the latter returns tosaid position.

5. In a machine for filling cartons, an open bottom spout 'for feedingmaterial under pressure; a fluid pressure assembly beneath the spouthaving a cylinder, a piston reciprocable vertically in the cylindertoward and away from the spout and means on the piston for receiving acarton to be filled; reciprocable mechanism for feeding the cartonssuccessively to said assembly while the piston is at said lowermost endof its path of travel; reciprocable apparatus for supporting the filledcarton after the fluid is directed to the cylinder above the piston,said apparatus being movable to a position for withdrawing the filledcarton from beneath the spout; a tank coupled with a source of fluidunder pressure; means'for directing the fluid from the tank to thecylinder beneath the piston to raise the latter and thereby move thecarton into register with the spout; regulator means between the tankand said source of fluid for maintaining the'pre ssure in the tank belowthe pressure of the material whereby to be engaged by the cartons as thesame are raised by said j 7 structure and while the cartons are beingfilled for preventing reciprocation of said mechanism and said apparatusduring a predetermined period of operation of said structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS714,875 Doble Dec. 2, 1902 766,433 Von Echt Aug. 2, 1904 2,718,345Howard Sept. 20, 1955

